Force Homestead Museum In 2024 | Livingston, New Jersey

Old Force Homestead, Livingston, New Jersey front view

Force Homestead Museum in Livingston, New Jersey

The Force Homestead Museum is a historical site located in Livingston, New Jersey.

The homestead has been undergoing renovations, but we visited when it was decorated for Christmas!

History

According to the Livingston, New Jersey website:

The Force House, as it is now known, was originally built in 1745 by Theophelous Ward. The large room with the area above was the entire house.

Samuel Force, of French Huguenot origin, purchased the house in 1777 for his son Thomas, who was born in 1758 and served in the Revolutionary War. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war on the British ship “Jersey”. After the war, he and his wife, the former Hannah Smith, settled in the house and became the parents of ten children.

Architecture

The architecture at the Force Homestead Museum is utilitarian, according to this website:

The early American house was built by simple, hard-working people who had neither the time nor the inclination to build a house for anything but shelter. They were constructed almost entirely of wood, a plentiful commodity, which the builders cut and prepared themselves.

The architecture reflected the daily lives of the people. A structure was built solid and tight, with strong beams and thick walls to keep out extreme cold in the winter and excessive heat during summer.

The shingles were handmade from the heart of the oak and the timbers were six inches square. They were tongued deep and beveled off with a chisel, and fastened with wooden pins or pegs. Iron nails, hand drawn and expensive, were used only on the outside.

Most early homes started with one large room which contained a large cooking fireplace. The outside doors faced the south and were farthest from the fireplace. This was to spare those about the hearth from the cold winters blasts of air.

The architecture of the homes in Livingston was New England Colonial in form, but marked by Dutch characteristics, such as overhanging eaves which served as partial awnings over the windows, shading them in summer and keeping the snow and sleet off of the threshold in winter. Dutch ovens were introduced by early settlers from Manhattan and Long Island. There was a tendency to disregard the road completely so the front of the house could face the south. Porches were added only after the war between the States and were a direct influence of the leisurely South.